The West Virginia Mountaineers football program defensive coordinator Vic Koenning have agreed to mutually separate.

He had two seasons remaining on his contract at a value of $1,074,059. The separation agreement from WVU calls for Koenning to be paid $591,451 over the next 19 months.

Koenning had been on administrative leave from the football program since June 23, when current safety Kerry Martin alleged a series of insensitive actions in a social media post citing multiple incidents that occurred between the assistant coach and himself as well as former safety Derrek Pitts, who left for Marshall.

Among those actions that Martin alleged were discussing religion in front of him, calling him “retarded” for doing the wrong technique in a drill and discussions over his political views during meetings. Among those were that President Donald Trump should “build the wall and keep Hispanics out of the country," Martin alleged.

“Coach Vic is not a bad person and he does mean well in many aspects but his heinous actions toward us over rules the good things he has done and many of us are uncomfortable being around him,” Martin wrote on Twitter. “I didn't want to bring negativity to the program but with everything going on, for him to still act this way and feel okay with saying what he said is not okay. Enough is enough.”

Athletics Director Shane Lyons discussed the decision for the mutual separation.

"This mutual separation is in the best interest of our football program. Coach Brown and I have set high expectations for our coaches, staff and student-athletes, and it is that culture that will allow us to compete for championships. We are moving forward as a program and our coaches, staff and student-athletes have my complete confidence and support," he said in a statement.

In the aftermath of those allegations, Lyons announced that Koenning had been placed on leave and a thorough investigation began.

Koenning apologized for the events in his own social media post.

Koenning was in the second year of a three-year contract where he was set to make $675,000 this season while that was set to increase March 1, 2021 to $700,000. The coordinator came with head coach Neal Brown from Troy when he first arrived in January 2019. He spent 2015-18 serving as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach with Brown for the Trojans.

The 60-year old Oklahoma native played his college football at Kansas State and had stints as the head coach of Wyoming as well as assistant coaching jobs at Memphis, Troy, Clemson, Kansas State, Illinois, North Carolina and West Virginia.

"I remain apologetic to anyone who perceived something I said or did as hurtful. That was never my intent. I wish to thank all the current and former players, coaches and colleagues – of all different ethnicities and backgrounds – whose support and encouragement have been invaluable to me and my family. I am relieved the process is over but will be forever changed by the experience. Personally, I'd love to get back to coaching our guys, but I know that doing so would create additional scrutiny and lingering distractions for our program. Taking all this into consideration, we have come to this mutual decision to separate. I will always be grateful for the relationships formed with so many players, coaches and WVU supporters. I am not done coaching. I remain passionate about leading young men and look forward to the next coaching chapter in my life. I wish nothing but the best for all Mountaineers," Koenning wrote in a statement.

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